Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has told Mercedes to sell their works team at the end of this year.
The German manufacturer’s future in the sport has been increasingly uncertain over the past year with the current Concorde Agreement set to expire after 2020.
A push for budget cuts by Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius, unhappiness over the new regulations and rumours linking team boss Toto Wolff to Aston Martin are just some of the reasons why the company could pull the plug.
But Bernie believes they should do so for another reason, there’s simply no reason to continue.
“I’ve met Mercedes boss Ola Kallenius when he was still in charge of Mercedes’ F1 engines factory in Brixworth,” Ecclestone revealed to F1-Insider.com.
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“So he knows what it is about. At the moment, however, he has other problems than his Formula 1 project.
“But what I am deeply impressed by is how he is leading the company through the emissions scandal and the corona crisis into the future.
“If I were him I would sell my team at the end of 2020. What does Mercedes have to prove after six titles in a row? Nothing,” he added.
“Every World Champion after that would have to live with the shortcoming only to have won the title because of the exit of Mercedes.”
With the current regulations set to continue for one more year and cost-cutting measures coming in there’s probably no reason for Mercedes to say goodbye to Brackley at least in the short term.
But somehow, at least in this writer’s view, it does feel like the newly formed partnership with INEOS, a company that has bought successful teams in other sports, might have a prelude to a takeover further down the line…